Taking kids out of School-AGAIN

[jpeppers]

As a former teacher I personally think that unless your child has either missed a great number of days already, or is more than a quarter behind in their progress it's no big deal to take kids out.

The experiences that they get from a family vacation are a lot more important than 5 days of K (and I can say that because I taught K ).

I think it's a bit different when they reach middle school...but you're not there yet, so enjoy your vacation!!

Thank you! My daughter will get so much more out of her week in Disney than she ever would have gotten sitting in a class room!

 

[Disney Vegas]

My wife insists that we can't take our K,and 1st grader out for a trip this year,and I really don't think it's a big deal.She's talking to all of these other moms,and they are agreeing with her,saying that 5 days is too much for them to miss.They are saying that"this is their foundation",and if they miss this or that,they will be doomed for life-is this nuts or what!!??

I was JUST talking about that with my sister the other day because she wants to take the kids out in November so we can see Disney at Christmas b4 the crowds roll in. What we realized is our ENTIRE lives are based on school then work when we get older. What will the kids miss in 5 days that they won't be able to make up or learn for the rest of their LIVES...think about it, when you were little, if you missed a few days of school, would you be a TOTAL LOSER right now because that particular week the teacher was talking about multiplying fractions...no. My sister is a teacher and she finds it insane how there is a whole section in her Disney guide talking about how teachers send angry letters to the parents for taking their kids on a vacation (that they will remember for the rest of their lives).

Like they say, life is short, (god forbid) you could be dead this time next year, if you have the $$ and time (which could all be gone in the snap of a finger, as we've seen with this economic crisis), seize this opportunity to make memories and share some FUN with your kids...they will have school and work for the next 80yrs, and not ot sound harsh, but your DD has to losen up about this because if she is afraid about reprocussions in Kindergarten, what is she going to say when your child is in Middle school or High School, they won't be able to miss even 2 days of school.

We kept saying we were going to rent a beach house for my mom, because that was her dream vacation, but we never had the time (due to work and school). She was diagnosed with cancer and died 3 weeks later.....all she wanted was to go to the beach with her family, but being afraid to miss too many days of work stopped that from happening...was it worth it....no.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Yes, they are nuts. These are YOUR kids, not the school's, or anyone else's. Take them wherever you like. My 16 year old cousin has missed about 20 days so far this year (not all vacation) and is applying to all Ivy League colleges. Kids catch up fine.

 

[Evangeline]

We're pulling our 1st grader, but she will only miss one day of class. Here are the skills she is going to work on during our trip:


* Souvenir items: She's bringing money, and it's her sole responsibility to count and budget her souvenir money for the entire trip.
* Park navigation: She must navigate the park transportation and intra-park maps on her own to lead us where we want to go. This is both geographically / spatially / time challenging, while also providing plenty of reading opportunity.
* She will be keeping a park diary, writing her thoughts and feelings about the trip.
* As we wait in line, she'll be calculating line wait times ("20 minutes from this spot") to estimate what time we are likely to actually ride a ride.
* EPCOT's World Showcase features country displays from around the world. She will be getting passport stamps as she learns more about each country and participates in crafts.
* EPCOT also has The Living Seas and The Land exhibits, where science facts abound.

She'll present to the class some of her observations upon our return.

This is actually from the e-mail we sent her teacher. His response? "I need to work on some of those things as well. When do we leave?"

Maybe if you incorporate ways to work on some school skills it will make everyone (kids teachers and your wife) more comfortable with the idea*


*pending approval by the teachers and following your school district's rules, offer not avilable in AK or HI, see store display for details.

 

[iwrbnd]

Yes, it's nuts! Take it from a mom of high schoolers, take them out while they're young and you can do it! High school is another story...

 

[jensen]

We always take our kids out of school for family vacations. We took our DD (K) and DS (3rd) out two different weeks (a month apart) this winter for vacations. Their teachers were more than accomodating, agreeing that vacations can be very educational. We just got report cards last week and DS got all A's, including one A+. DD got all S+'s. So, I don't think it hurt them at all.

I actually had a cruise planned, as well, but cancelled because I was afraid it would be too much for the kids to miss... now I'm kicking myself because I know they would have handled missing another week just fine.

 

[PrincessBelle39]

Here in Australia our kids do kindergarten, then prep, then grade 1, grade 2 etc. My eldest dd missed a month in kindergarten and then another month in grade 1. My youngest missed the month in kindergarten. Both were for trips to WDW. They both slotted back in with no difficulty at all. And they got so much out of the trip as well as precious family time.
We are planning a 7 week trip in 2013. The girls will be in grade 3 and grade 5.

 

[BBG-BLT]

K and 1st. Oh you're fine - the older it gets the harder only because some schools (like mine) send the week of school work with you. When we took the twins out of third for a week it was hard to get them to come back to the resort and do their work. We only made them do their work 3 days but getting their seat work and homework for the week done in 3 nights when they were tired was difficult.

Ergo - this year we're going at Thanksgiving. But K and 1st - oh that was fine for us.

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

My wife insists that we can't take our K,and 1st grader out for a trip this year,and I really don't think it's a big deal.She's talking to all of these other moms,and they are agreeing with her,saying that 5 days is too much for them to miss.They are saying that"this is their foundation",and if they miss this or that,they will be doomed for life-is this nuts or what!!??

Personally, I think these other moms are just jealous that you're going to Disney and THEY'RE NOT!!

I've taken my boys out several times and their "foundation" is just fine!

 

[Jareds_mommy]

My wife insists that we can't take our K,and 1st grader out for a trip this year,and I really don't think it's a big deal.She's talking to all of these other moms,and they are agreeing with her,saying that 5 days is too much for them to miss.They are saying that"this is their foundation",and if they miss this or that,they will be doomed for life-is this nuts or what!!??

This trip we are about to take we are taking our 2 our for 2 weeks not only do we have the schools blessing but its the second time this year we will have pulled them for 2 weeks for disney, and DD missed almost all of Jan for surgery neither one has had problems catching up and picking up where the class is
They are 5 and 8

 

[sara74]

PS..I took my children out for Disney and then turned around and went to St. Louis for 3 days the very next month. The children have not flunked out of school or become ax murderers.

Yet...

We took DD (2nd grade) and DS (K) for 6 days just last month! They missed a Friday and then the whole next week!! Now I did pick a week that had 3 early release days in it, so they didn't miss *quite* as much, but it was still 6 days.

Both teachers knew, and supported us. Both kids have already completed all missed assignments and we've only been back 4 days.

I was the mom you might have seen in the ToT line last week quizzing my DD on her spelling words! The looks people were giving me!!! Hey, if she's missing over a week of school and we're going to be standing there for 20 minutes, no reason she can't learn how to spell something!

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Yet...

We took DD (2nd grade) and DS (K) for 6 days just last month! They missed a Friday and then the whole next week!! Now I did pick a week that had 3 early release days in it, so they didn't miss *quite* as much, but it was still 6 days.

Both teachers knew, and supported us. Both kids have already completed all missed assignments and we've only been back 4 days.

I was the mom you might have seen in the ToT line last week quizzing my DD on her spelling words! The looks people were giving me!!! Hey, if she's missing over a week of school and we're going to be standing there for 20 minutes, no reason she can't learn how to spell something!

LOL. Our parents quizzed us on state capitals all the time. At the dinner table, in the car, etc. I'm sure they did it at WDW.

 

[Racemom17]

I disagree as well...I usually take my kids out once a year, 7th grade, 4th grade and 2nd grade to go to Disney. I do try to minimize the time they spend away from school, so plan around teachers workdays, etc when possible....however I want to go when the crowds are low so I refuse to go in the summer, spring break etc.

We took them down in October...they had 2 teacher workdays and missed 2 days of school and we had the weekend...the opportunity came up for me to take them back in 2 weeks, which I will be doing...again they will miss only 2 days, and 1 teacher workday...

They grow up to fast...I want to enjoy with them as much as I can while I have them...all of my kids are good students and diligent about any makeup work.

Kinder and 1st grade should not be an issue in my opinion.

 

[actnkidz]

We took our 2 kids out for 6 days in November and are taking them out again this May for 5 days. The teacher has been very supportive and gave us his packet and told us to have a great time. My DS is 8 and in 3rd grade and DD is 5 and in the last year of preschool. Next year we already have a trip planned in April.

I really believe what they learn things from traveling that they could never learn sitting in a chair in a classroom.

GL and HAVE FUN!

 

[mom25kids]

Wow. Well my first instinct is HUH?! It's elementary, it's NOT a big deal at all. BUT I then think of my son who's now in 5th grade and how he's struggling.

We are pulling ours out for 6 days here coming up soon for our first trip to Disney. Our school allows 5 days for a preexcused vacation, the last day is unexcused, but they are okay with that and gave us approval for all five of ours.

I have to see how this goes. I'm not worried about my daughter in 1st grade or my son in 3rd grade - both do really well and they don't have much during that time of the year anyways (school lets out two weeks after that). My son in 5th always struggles - so I am worried about him, but as I said, there's only two weeks left of school anyways, so hopefully it's not "too much" for him to miss out on. My daughter in 6th, who is in advanced classes - I'm not worried about at all. She is a 4.0 student and already is getting her work for that week from her teachers to TAKE WITH US (yes, I believe she is nuts lol) and I know she'll do it while we are there. My oldest daughter does worry me. She's in 9th grade. NOT the time period where I think one should pull out kids. BUT they are just studying for their finals the following week when we return. So she is already being given all her study materials before hand. So hopefully it won't be a burden.

HOnestly though, I shoulda thought it through more. LOL With my 5th grader, I should hav enever done this. With my 9th grader, I should have thought it through more. But with my others, it's not a big deal at all, imo.

SO not only does it depend on the grade level, but also how they do in school. For us, chances are high (if we survive this trip), if we go back, we may end up pulling them over vacation either Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter or even just waiting til the brutal summer. But if all goes okay and works out well with this, I may say who cares and pull them out again during it. I don't know. It just depends on how they do, specifically my son in 5th grade (which is middle school here).

 

[kyhardy]

We have been pulling our daughter out of school once a yr since she started school with no problems. Our daughter will be in the 6th grade next year. We have talked my brother into letting us take our 2 nieces with us as well this Sept. It will be their 1st trip. They all do well in school and I'm sure they will have no trouble making up their work. I'd say go for it, there is a lot to be said from learning gained through life experiences.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I've been taking my kids out of school for family vacations since the beginning of their school careers.
Life is short, your kids will never remember a week at school, but they will hold dear your family trips forever! What are they going to miss that they will never learn? Nothing! Kids have their lifetime to learn.

 

[Nancyg56]

Personally, I think these other moms are just jealous that you're going to Disney and THEY'RE NOT!!

I've taken my boys out several times and their "foundation" is just fine!

I know that you are jesting but I am not so sure about the jealous thing. My DD has taken kady out of school for Disney several times and has always had the teacher's blessing. She checked ahead of time to make sure that the week that she missed was going to be one Kady could recover from. My DH has never approved of this and felt that we could have made these vacations happen during school breaks. He feels very strongly that school should never be missed unless the kids are sick but my DD and DSIL make those decision, as they should. My DD is taking Kady out in October and she is a little worried because this is now 4th grade and there is a lot of work. WIll this be the right decision or is this te time she hears "I told you so." from my DH? I don't know but there is no way any of would change those wonderful memories that we all made on those previous trips.

I think that what I find offensive about the OP's wife's friends is that they have decided what is appropriate for their family should apply to every other family. I have never understood why some folks find that their parenting decisions are the only correct decisions for every one else despite the fact that evey family has their own unique set of circumstances.

 

[imthatgirl]

We take our kis out of school every May to go somewhere. This year its Disney.

I know people say that you're doing your child a disservice or that they will miss too much. I honestly don't understand this at a gradeschool level. My kids are in K and 4th. At this grade I can teach them anything they are learning. With a little parent involvement your kid will miss absolutely nothing but recess.

 

[scarlet_ibis]

We're taking our 1st grader out for a week. She missed a week of K, too. She's not a sickly kid, so she hasn't really missed any other days in the year. And our school is so laid back, they aren't even sending work for her.